Francis I, Duke of Nevers

Francis I
Duke of Nevers
Count of Eu
Count of Rethel

Francis I of Cleves, Duke of Nevers (by François Clouet)
Spouse(s) Marguerite of Bourbon-La Marche

Issue

Noble family La Marck
Father Charles II of Nevers
Mother Marie d'Albret, Countess of Rethel
Born 2 September 1516
Died 13 February 1561 (aged 44)

Francis I of Cleves, (2 September 1516 – 13 February 1561) was a commander in the French Royal Army and the first Duke of Nevers. He participated in the suppression of the Amboise conspiracy.

The only son of Charles II of Nevers (died in the Louvre in 1521) and Marie d'Albret, Countess of Rethel, Francis succeeded his father as Count of Nevers and Eu. In 1539 he became Duke of Nevers. When his mother died in 1549, he also inherited the title of Count of Rethel.

In 1538, Francis married Marguerite of Bourbon-La Marche (1516–1589), daughter of Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme and Françoise of Alençon, and sister of Antoine of Navarre, who became father of King Henry IV of France.

They had five children: